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Generic Press Release for New Groups

A press release is a great way to spread the news about your new group, advertise your presence and gain new members. We encourage every new group to send out a press release as they start up - it's free advertising!

The Secular Student Alliance will be happy to help you with your press release. You are more than welcome to use the generic sample below (or download the listed .pdf), and just replace all the placeholders with your group's information. Or you can use this as an example and write your own, tailored specifically to your group's needs and interests. A campus organizer will be happy to help if you have questions or need a hand - just contact us!

When you have completed your press release, contact the SSA to have it sent using our media database. We are able to reach media contacts anywhere in the U.S. and will happily send your press release on your behalf. Sometimes it takes a few days for us to do this, so please give us enough time!

[city] - Nonreligious students will soon have an opportunity to meet once a week and discuss their shared values. [group name] will hold its first meeting [day] at [time] in [building and room]. The event is open to the public [and food will be provided?].

"[group name] will give nonreligious students a place to talk with like-minded people and promote civil dialogue with religious students as well," said [name], one of the group's founders. Beyond the existence of gods, [group name] will also discuss issues like separation of church and state, social perceptions of nonbelievers, and rational analysis of supernatural claims.

Agnostics believe there is insufficient evidence to prove or disprove the existence of a god, while atheists are willing to rule it out beyond reasonable doubt. Humanism is an ethical philosophy that embraces reason and science to improve the human condition. Humanists are often also atheists or agnostics. [change as needed]

Nonreligious people face a social stigma that frequently keeps them from expressing their views publicly, said [another name]. A recent University of Minnesota study found that atheists are the "least trusted" demographic: 48% of Americans would refuse to vote for a qualified atheist candidate for president, and respondents rated atheists less likely than any other group, even gays or Muslims shortly after 9/11, to share their vision of society.

[fate of previous affiliates at your school, if any] [affiliate name] hopes to avoid that fate by working closely with the international Secular Student Alliance [and any other organizations].

Atheism has made headlines recently with the publication of bestselling books like The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and god Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens. [choose your favorites]